Congressman Adam Smith issued the following statement on the tax extenders package:

December17,2015

“I voted against the tax extender bill considered in the House today because it is inequitable and leaves our nation’s finances worse off. The $622 billion tax package extends many tax breaks while ignoring the reality that we simply do not collect enough revenue to fund the important programs that help create a strong economy.

“While a number of helpful provisions are included, such as a permanent extension of both the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit and the State & Local Sales Tax Deduction, the enormous cost of this un-paid for bill and its impact on the deficit is concerning. Ultimately, positive aspects of this tax package do not come close to outweighing the legislation’s imbalanced priorities and decreased revenues.

“Over the last fifteen years, we have cut revenue by trillions of dollars and seen our debt increase substantially while our infrastructure has suffered. If we hope to balance the budget while expanding economic opportunity, investing in innovation and infrastructure, and strengthening the working class, we must adopt a responsible tax system. We need sound and forward-looking policies to address our budget issues in a comprehensive way that properly balances spending priorities while raising revenue.”